C. Vegetable Milk.

The several varieties of vegetable milk are merely emulsions containing sufficient water to give them a milky appearance. They are used as such for washes and are in great favor. Owing to the larger amount of water they contain, they are more liable to decompose than the preparations described above, since the fats present in them easily become rancid on account of their fine division in the milk.

In order to render these preparations more stable, they receive an addition of about five to ten per cent of their weight of pure glycerin which enhances their cosmetic effect. The addition of about one-half of one per cent of salicylic acid is likewise to be recommended, as it makes them more stable.

In the following pages we shall describe only the most important of these preparations usually made by the perfumer. In this connection we may state that by slightly modifying the substances used to perfume them, new varieties of vegetable milk can be easily prepared.

Every vegetable milk consists in the main of a base of soap, wax, and spermaceti, and an aromatic water which gives the name to the preparation. This composition is intended to keep suspended the fatty vegetable substances (almond or pistachio meal, etc.), thus producing a milky appearance.

Vegetable milks are made as follows.

Melt the soap with the wax and spermaceti at a gentle heat. Prepare a milk from the vegetable substance and the aromatic water (e.g., unexpressed almonds and rose water) by careful trituration, strain it through fine silk gauze into the vessel containing the melted mixture of soap, wax, and spermaceti, stir thoroughly, let it cool, and add the alcohol holding in solution the essential oils, the glycerin (and the salicylic acid), under continual stirring. The alcohol must be added in a very thin stream, otherwise a portion of the mass will curdle. The coarser particles contained in the milk must be allowed to settle by leaving the preparation at rest for twenty-four hours, when the milk can be carefully decanted from the sediment and filled into bottles for sale.

Lilac Milk (Lait de Lilas).

Soap2¼ oz.
Wax2¼ oz.
Spermaceti2¼ oz.
Sweet almonds1 lb.
Lilac-flower water4½ pints.
Huile antique de lilas2½ oz.
Alcohol (80-85% Tralles)2 lb.

In place of lilac-flower water and huile antique de lilas, lilacin (terpineol) may be used, a sufficient quantity (about 1 oz.) being dissolved in the alcohol. But the lilacin must be pure and of clean odor.

Virginal Milk (Lait Virginal).

This preparation differs from all other milks sold in perfumery in that it consists of some aromatic water with tincture of benzoin and tolu. In making it, pour the aromatic water in a very thin stream into the tincture under vigorous stirring. If the water flows in too rapidly, the resins present in the tincture separate in lumps; but if slowly poured in, the resins form minute spheres which remain suspended. The preparation is named after the aromatic water it contains: Lait virginal de la rose, à fleurs d’oranges, etc. Its formula is:

Tincture of benzoin2 oz.
Tincture of tolu2¾ oz.
Aromatic water4 qts.

Cucumber Milk (Lait de Concombres).

Soap1 oz.
Olive oil1 oz.
Wax1 oz.
Spermaceti1 oz.
Sweet almonds1 lb.
Cucumber juice (freshly expressed)4½ pints.
Extract of cucumber1 pint.
Alcohol2 lb.

Dandelion Milk.

Soap2¼ oz.
Olive oil2¼ oz.
Wax2¼ oz.
Sweet almonds1 lb.
Extract of tuberose1 lb.
Rose water5 pints.
Dandelion juice5 oz.

Dandelion juice is the bitter milk sap of the root of the common dandelion (Leontodon taraxacum); it should be expressed immediately before use. The rose water may be replaced by some other aromatic water or even ordinary water; but the latter should be distilled, otherwise the lime it contains would form an insoluble combination with the soap.

Bitter-Almond Milk (Lait d’Amandes Amères).

Bitter almonds2¼ oz.
Soap2¼ oz.
Expressed oil of almond2¼ oz.
Wax2¼ oz.
Spermaceti2¼ oz.
Rose water4 qts.
Alcohol3 pints.
Oil of bitter almond½ oz.
Oil of bergamot1 oz.
Oil of lemon½ oz.

Rose Milk (Lait de Roses).

Olive oil2¼ oz.
Soap2¼ oz.
Wax2¼ oz.
Spermaceti2¼ oz.
Sweet almonds4 lb.
Oil of rose150 grains.
Rose water4 qts.
Alcohol1 pint.

Pistachio Milk (Lait de Pistaches).

Soap.2¼ oz.
Olive oil2¼ oz.
Wax2¼ oz.
Spermaceti2¼ oz.
Pistachio nuts14 oz.
Oil of neroli¾ oz.
Orange-flower water6 qts.
Alcohol1 qt.